KIEV, February 15. /TASS/. Ukraine plans to lay off 20% of officials, or about 50,000 people, Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said on Sunday.

Last year, as many as 25,000 state servants were laid off. "This year, we plan further considerable cuts in state services. It will be a 20% reduction, or about 50,000 people," he told the One Plus One television channel.

"The idea is to reduce the number but to improve the quality," he said. "It might be done by means of recruiting professional personnel and increasing salaries."

Touching on staff recruitment criteria, Yatsenyuk said preference would be given to "the young, new and educated."